Well I've now done my CELTA, it was harder than I ever expected - even doing it part-time, but the certificate arrived last week. Definitely if you want to teach overseas, then get the CELTA.

Spain should be on that list - it's a great country to live in AND there are a lot of TEFL jobs, particularly in the smaller towns and cities.

In China the big money is to be made from private tuition. When I was a university student there the admin staff were swamped with companies wanting English tuition for their staff. I turned it all down as I was too busy firefighting my mosquito issue and dating hot hot women.

xiongmao wrote:Well I've now done my CELTA, it was harder than I ever expected - even doing it part-time, but the certificate arrived last week. Definitely if you want to teach overseas, then get the CELTA.

Spain should be on that list - it's a great country to live in AND there are a lot of TEFL jobs, particularly in the smaller towns and cities.

In China the big money is to be made from private tuition. When I was a university student there the admin staff were swamped with companies wanting English tuition for their staff. I turned it all down as I was too busy firefighting my mosquito issue and dating hot hot women.

How much did corporate gigs pay in China?

When I was in Indonesia, I determined that I wouldn't really benefit much from the CELTA. It's great if you want to know how to teach English. I'd taken a course in it in college. But if I remember right, you could only get a certificate if you were completing an education degree or teacher certification. The ESL certificate was an add-on to that. I also learned how to teach through trial and error.

After having X years of experience, having a CELTA didn't help that much. I may have lost one job over it at a national plus school in Indonesia that would have considered hiring me if I had a CELTA certificate. But most schools wouldn't consider it because CELTA was for teaching adults, and these types of schools were secondary schools that taught children.

In South Korea when I was there, you just needed a college degree to get the job. I'm not saying a CELTA wouldn't be worth it to know what you are doing and have some confidence. But it probably wouldn't have helped me land a job. It was easy to do that. And I don't think there is a bump up in pay if you have a CELTA in most cases. Maybe having it would put your resume at the top of the stack if there is competition or get you into some slightly higher paying school that pays a bit more. But I don't think it helps if you are in a market where there is a high demand for native English speaker teachers and salaries are rather flat. South Korea seemed to fit that description when I went there.

I've been offered a job and I'm currently doing the paperwork (harder than doing the actual job!!!!)

My tips:

Scan job boards and apply for anything you like the sound of even if they say you need 2 years experience etc. etc.
Be ruthless and turn down the many things you're offered but don't like the sound of. Like avoid all those ones where you have to be on site for 8 hours a day.
TEFL providers often have job listings - this is actually how I found mine.
After all the hassle of the CELTA my new employers weren't actually sure it was a 120 hour certificate. In fact it is a 160 hour certificate lol.
Still it is worth getting a CELTA - I'm pretty sure none of the classes I will ever teach in future will be as hard as the CELTA ones were.
Having a degree helps.
Teaching experience is highly valued. I failed to get any in the UK as it's easier to find a full time paid job than a volunteer teaching job lol.
Learning your new country's language shows that you are serious. If you want to go to China then try and pass the HSK. Or do the equivalent qualification for Japan.
Previously living in the country is a BIG plus as well. Failing that just visiting there on vacation.
BenTeachesEnglishOverseas on YouTube has some awesome videos.
Make sure you have Skype.
Have some sort of life plan as English teaching is a good job but not such a great career. If you're genuinely interested in teaching, do a proper teaching qualification (like a PGCE in the UK).
Start doing your paperwork early!!!